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This study examined whether perceived work–family conflict would function as a mediator in the link between work–family culture perceptions and self-reported distress. Data were obtained from employees (N ¼ 1; 297) of five Finnish organizations representing both the public (local social and health care, school, and labour departments) and the private sectors (paper mill, IT company). The results showed that perceived work–family conflict functioned as a partial mediator between employees’ perceptions of work–family culture and self-reported distress in two organizations (i.e. in the social and health care department and paper mill), whereas the relationship turned out to be direct in the other three organizations (i.e. the education, labour departments and IT company). Thus, a supportive work–family culture was related directly and indirectly, through reduced work–family conflict, to the well-being of employees. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Through an elaboration of Stinchcombe's model of the structure of functional explanations, this paper attempts to integrate the notions of equilibrium structures, structural contradictions, and social conflicts. It proposes that two variables of an unquestionably empirical nature can account for the distinctions among the three structural forms: (1) the emergence of a double loop in the basic structure of functional systems and (2) the embodiment of systemic, mechanical forces in the intentions and actions of persons. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The characteristics of one's moral code determine how often and in what life situations inner conflict is aroused, influence the ways such conflict is experienced, and set limits on the techniques that can be used to resolve it. The goal of this paper is to convey the theoretical richness of the topic and to clarify some of the research implications. Therefore, only a brief outline of empirical work on the acquisition of moral needs is explained here. Details of the latter are presented elsewhere. Instead, the article describes a number of the problems that have been encountered in the development of the investigations. The paper closes with a discussion of some hypothetical interrelationships between moral standards and other facets of personality.

This paper uses grounded theory to explore internal (intrafirm) conflicts in the formulation of business-government strategies by corporations with diversified business units. We find that three types of conflict exist within firms: conflict over proactive policy positions advocated by the firm (prepolicy issues), conflict over reactive internal distribution of compliance costs/benefits (postpolicy issues), and representational conflict (e.g., individual business units vs. corporate representation in the external public policy arena). We also develop a grounded framework for organizational structures for conflict resolution in the strategic management of government relations, based upon our case studies, and find a relationship between particular structures and the degree of diversification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the evolution of political institutions in the face of conflict. We examine institutional reform in a class of pivotal mechanisms-institutions that behave as if the resulting policy were determined by a "pivotal" decision maker drawn from the potential population of citizens and who holds full policy-making authority at the time. A rule-of succession describes the process by which pivotal decision makers in period t +1 are, themselves, chosen by pivotal decision makers in period t. Two sources of conflict-class conflict, arising from differences in wealth, and ideological conflict, arising from differences in preferences-are examined. In each case, we characterize the unique Markov-perfect equilibrium of the associated dynamic political game, and show that public decision-making authority evolves monotonically downward in wealth and upward in ideological predisposition toward the public good. We then examine rules-of-succession when ideology and wealth exhibit correlation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper examines whether differentiating among types of intimate partner violence enhances the explanatory capacity of extant empirical models.The analysis uses national-level Canadian data to evaluate an alternative approach to operationalizing intimate partner violence, drawing upon Black's (1990) and Johnson's (1995) theoretical work. The main argument suggests that current efforts to explain intimate partner violence with victimization studies are inadequate because they typically do not measure key sociological variables. The failure to assess the contexts within which different types of violence occur further hinders explanatory efforts.The paper concludes with recommendations for innovative theoretical and methodological strategies to address these limitations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper focuses on the role of emotion in intragroup conflict processes. We propose that how group members handle emotion affects intragroup interactions and has implications for task and relationship conflict. Three types of variables--collective emotional intelligence, intragroup relational ties, and conflict-relevant interactional norms--constrain negative emotionality and may determine whether task conflict results in damaging relationship conflict. The moderating influence of these variables is discussed, as are compositional issues associated with measuring them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using prospective longitudinal data from the Christchurch Health and Development Study (CHDS), this paper examines the effects of parental separation on the quality of adolescents' attachment to parents and their perceptions of parental care and overprotection during childhood. Exposure to parental separation was significantly associated with lower attachment to parents in adolescence and more negative perceptions of maternal and paternal care and protection during childhood. When examined in relation to the developmental timing of first separation, a linear relationship between the age at first separation and later parental attachment and perceived parent-child relations was found. The younger the age of the child at the time of separation, the lower their subsequent parental attachment and the more likely they were to perceive both their mother and father as less caring and more overprotective. No gender differences were found in children's responses to parental separation. These findings persisted after control for the confounding effects of family social background, marital conflict, parenting, child behavior, and remarriage. Results supported the importance of the early childhood years for the development of a secure and enduring attachment relationship between children and their parents.Key Words: adolescence, attachment, divorce, parent-child relationships, parental seperation [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper reports on a study of interpersonal conflicts in the workplace using a process model proposed by Thomas (1992) as a framework. Three stages of this model are examined: the issues involved, the behavioral responses elicited, and the personal consequences. The relationship of issues and behaviors to consequences is determined within the context of the organizational positions of the parties (supervisor, subordinate, co- worker). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper suggests that if it is possible to ascertain individuals' primary motivation in dating, their degree of instrumental orientation, and their degree of emotional involvement; it will be possible to predict the likelihood of conflict occurring in their relationship, which partner is likely to control the relationship, and which partner is likely to experience the greater distress. It is further suggested that motivations in dating are affected by social variables, as are the actual choice of dating partners and the course of the dating relationship. An illustrative dating situation is presented and analyzed in which the females' primary motivation in dating is courtship and the males' primary motivation is recreation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since under pillarization religious organizations served as vehicles for social conflict, individual commitment used to be high; as pillarization declines, so must individual adherence. The author welcomes their retreat to old-paradigm reasoning, but their move raises several issues, even apart from the attempt to immunize their theory. First, the new proposal calls into question the very role of competition. After depillarization, the current religious market can plausibly be viewed as much more open and competitive than it was previously. the conflict argument makes good sense with respect to caste-like societies, but it does not follow from the theory. Third, the shift to conflict leads to a contradiction, at least in the application of the theory. The continued decline of the Dutch Catholic Church is due to its laxity; however, as my 1989 article already indicated, a counterrevolution quickly followed the liberalization of the 1960s, and the current posture of the church hierarchy is clearly as strict as that of Rome.

This research examines the effects of a class‐level intervention for career indecision variables. A repeated measures intervention study was used to examine the efficacy of a 16‐week career exploration course on decreasing career indecision variables. Results showed significant improvement in lack of readiness, choice/commitment anxiety, and neuroticism/negative affectivity. Interpersonal conflicts remained stable. Overall, we found the class‐level intervention had a significant effect on decreasing college students' career indecision. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aimed to explore the causes, types, and consequences of authorship conflicts among the researchers of selected research institutions in Dhaka, Bangladesh; and to suggest ways to reduce conflicts. A sample of 100 researchers was given a semi-structured questionnaire; 45 subjects responded. The responses were confidential and anonymous. Over two-thirds of the respondents were aware of authorship conflicts, and one-third had actually faced conflicts with their co-authors. Of them, four faced conflicts with their juniors, while 13 faced conflicts with their seniors or supervisors. The primary causes of such conflicts appear to be unethical claims of authorship, violation of authorship order, and deprivation of authorship. In most cases, the victims became frustrated and had to give up, and avoided a direct clash to safeguard their job. Four respondents claimed to have been victimized for raising their voice. Conflict was never resolved in seven cases. To reduce conflicts, respondents suggested that authorship should be decided before the study begins, order of authorship must be determined according to contribution, and a standard code of authorship should be followed strictly. Authorship conflicts arise among researchers mostly due to what they regard as unethical practice of their co-authors, supervisors, and department heads in the absence of any formal authorship policy in the institutions. A standard code of authorship, sensitization of researchers to the problem through open discussions and advocacy, and formation of a grievance redress committee are suggested to minimize such conflicts. Although the sample size was small, some of the specific recommendations will be appropriate in many other cases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper outlines conceptual distinction among avoidance, cooperation and competitive conflict resolution strategies used by marital partners. The discussion centers on avoidance which is viewed as a multifunctional communication strategy capable of operating either pro-socially or anti-socially in a given marital conflict. Forty-three couples were audiotaped as they discussed issues in which they had previously indicated significant disagreements. Couples were grouped based on how they define the relationship and their communication behavior was analyzed. Results indicated that the temporal aspects of speech, including turn-taking and interruptions, need to be considered in the study of couple conflict resolution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper introduces social judgment theory to marital and family researchers as a potentially useful theoretical and methodological tool for understanding marital conflict. A review of the literature on marital conflict concludes that theoretical advances in understanding the cognitive basis of marital conflict have surpassed the research methods needed to test these conceptions. Current conceptions of conflict and research findings have converged on the importance of discrepancies between partners' cognitive sets or judgment patterns as possible determinants of marital conflict. It is proposed that social judgment theory offers both a theoretical framework and research paradigm that will be useful to marital researchers and therapists in understanding and treating marital conflict. A computerized procedure is described for identification, measurement, and reporting of judgmental sources of marital conflict and for differentiation of apparent and actual conflict. A case study is provided as an example of how the judgment paradigm can be used for both research and clinical purposes. The results of the case study suggests that social judgment theory and interactive computer graphics offer tools toward improved understanding of one's own judgment process and that of one's marriage partner as well. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An attempt is made to add conceptual strength to the conflict approach toward the study of family process. The concepts developed aim to provide analytical access to the nature of the family negotiating process. The focus thus is on the conceptions of bonding, aggression, appeasement, and threat. In addition the extramarital nature of familial and marital conflict management is discussed. Throughout the argument, findings from the field of ethology are used, heuristically, to aid in the attempts at problem formulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-zero-sum noncooperative Prisoner's Dilemma game was used to study marital conflict. Sixty husbands and wives played the game thinking they were playing their spouse when actually they were playing a non-systematic response protocol supplied by the experimenter. The results indicated: (1) personality characteristics were more predictive of conflict behavior for wives while person perception characteristics were more predictive for husbands, (2) such variables were predictive early in the game for wives and only late in the game for husbands, and (3) both sexes tended to exhibit conflict behavior to the extent that they either saw themselves as different from the opposite sex or saw their spouse as different from their own sex. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The premise that psychopathology is frequently associated with unresolved role conflict in the family may be examined within the framework of Spiegel's theory that disturbances In role cornplementarity result in family disequilibrium which may be gradually resolved through changes it, role expectations. Preliminary data on weekend home visits of middle-aged women hospitalized for depression support the hypothesis that improvement in the patient's clinical stale is associated with increasing agreement between the patient and her family concerning role expectations and performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The problem of structural conflict between occupational and conjugal roles among clergy couples is investigated. It is found that church-type couples resolve this conflict by allowing occupational role at certain times to go unfulfilled while they carry out expressive conjugal roles. Sect-type couples are not as apt to consider it legitimate to allow occupational roles to ‘cool off,’ and therefore, they tend to experience less expressive conjugal interaction than do church-type couples. It is suggested that further research into conflict resolution between other occupations and the family might investigate the presence or absence of orientations analogous to those within church and sect groups. For example, a ‘total-work’ orientation might result in behavior similar to that of sect clergy, whereas a ‘work-home’ outlook might result in the mode of resolution practiced by church clergy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

With the growing proliferation of smart home assistants (SHAs), digital services are increasingly pervading people's private households. Through their intrusive features, SHAs threaten to not only increase individual users' strain but also impair social relationships at home. However, while previous research has predominantly focused on technology features' detrimental effects on employee strain at work, there is still a lack of understanding of the adverse effects of digital devices on individuals and their social relations at home. In addition, we know little about how these deleterious effects can be mitigated by using information technology (IT) artefact‐based design features. Drawing on the person‐technology fit model, self‐regulation theory, and the literature on anthropomorphism, we used the synergistic properties of an online experiment (N = 136) and a follow‐up field survey with a representative sample of SHA users (N = 214) to show how and why SHAs' intrusive technology features cause strain and interpersonal conflicts at home. Moreover, we demonstrate how SHAs' anthropomorphic design features can attenuate the harmful effects of intrusive technology features on strain by shaping users' feelings of privacy invasion. More broadly, our study sheds light on the largely underinvestigated psychological and social consequences of the digitization of the individual at home. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While the emphasis in the West is on “what you know” refers to technological expertise, including the price and quality of tendered product or service, the emphasis in Confucian societies is on “who you know,” which refers to personal connections with the appropriate authorities or individuals. These connections are known in Chinese as guanxi, on which as the basis Chinese exchange a lifetime of favors, resources, and business leverage. This study seeks to study guanxi mechanism, the unique Chinese social-cultural element and its impact on the managerial effectiveness of Taiwanese firms with lean implementation in practice, and an empirical study is constructed to verify our proposal. Results suggest that guanxi and its networks function as the lubrication that eases interpersonal conflicts and as the buffer in solving problems, which in turn upgrades the cooperative efficiency both inter- and intragroups. This article provides an inner view of cultural value, which offers insights that should prove helpful to academics in management and related disciplines as well as to practitioners engaged in Chinese production management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attachment insecurities (anxiety and avoidance) are often associated with relationship dissatisfaction, but the mediators have been unclear. We examined the mediating role of perceived conflict in 274 French-Canadian couples who completed measures of attachment insecurities, perception of conflict, and relationship satisfaction. Partners' own attachment anxiety and avoidance predicted their experience of conflict. In addition, women's anxiety predicted men's experience of conflict, and men's avoidance predicted women's experience of conflict. The associations between attachment insecurities and relationship dissatisfaction were partially mediated by conflict. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents research on the three-way interactions among marital conflict, sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous system (PNS) activity in predicting children's externalizing problems in the U.S. Study shows that either coactivation or coinhibition of the PNS and SNS has greater vulnerability for externalizing behavior problems in the context of high marital conflict. It was found out that marital conflict was associated with greater maternal and paternal reports of Delinquency and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity (ADH) symptoms when lower skin conductance level reactivity (SCL-R) was accompanied with respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) withdrawal or lower baseline RSA.

The article presents research on the role of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and parasympathetic nervous systems (PNS) activity among 6-12-year-olds in the U.S. Study shows the contribution of PNS and SNS coinhibition and coactivation as vulnerability factors for children's externalizing symptoms in the context of marital conflict. It demonstrates coinhibition and coactivation are connected with children vulnerability using an alternative measure of externalization (CBCL). It was found out that the SNS and PNS reciprocal activation function as a protective factor in almost all cases.

Trusting relationships are increasingly considered vital for making teams productive. We propose that cooperative management of conflict can help team members to be convinced that their teammates are trustworthy. Results from 102 organizations in China support the theorizing that how teams to manage conflict with each other affects within-team conflict management. Specifically, cooperative conflict between teams helps teams to manage their internal conflicts cooperatively that strengthens trust that in turn facilitates team performance. Results provide support for managing conflict cooperatively as a foundation for trusting, productive relationships in China as well as in the West. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Informal relationships often influence employees who intervene in an interpersonal conflict between colleagues. We investigate and report the effects of relational orientations (reciprocity orientation and communal orientation) on employee preference of choosing sides between an acquaintance and a friend in a workplace dispute in The Netherlands and China. A scenario study was conducted among 104 Dutch and 105 Chinese employees. As hypothesized, the results indicate that employees, especially Dutch employees, with an interest-concerned reciprocity orientation tend to side with the acquaintance who has a greater potential to return the favour. By contrast, employees, especially Chinese, with a sharing-concerned communal orientation tend to side with their workplace friend. Explanations and implications of the findings are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study examined longitudinal links between incongruence in mothers’ versus fathers’ differential treatment of adolescent-age siblings and parents’ marital quality. Multilevel models including 200 families, over four waves, spaced across 6 years tested whether youth perceptions of incongruence in differential intimacy and conflict predicted trajectories of mothers’ and fathers’ reports of marital conflict and satisfaction and vice versa. Analyses showed that changes in interparental incongruence covaried longitudinally with changes in marital quality and that these linkages became stronger over time. These results extend previous cross-sectional research with younger children and are consistent with theories regarding family alliances and coparenting. Discussion focuses on the reciprocal relations between incongruence in parenting and marital quality as an important aspect of family systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study of conflict has dominated psychological research on marriage. This article documents its move from center stage, outlining how a broader canvas accommodates a richer picture of marriage. A brief sampling of new constructs such as forgiveness and sacrifice points to an organizing theme of transformative processes in emerging marital research. The implications of marital transformations are explored including spontaneous remission of distress, nonlinear dynamic systems that may produce unexpected and discontinuous change, possible nonarbitrary definitions of marital discord, and the potential for developing other constructs related to self-transformation in marital research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a response to the article “Transformative Processes in Marriage: An Analysis of Emerging Trends,” by Frank D. Fincham, Scott M. Stanley, and Steven R. H. Beach. While it agrees with the concept that change in marriage can be sudden and nonlinear, it suggests that the shift in marital research proposed by Fincham et al. may be premature. The article discusses the notion that the empirical questions examined by Fincham et al. have not been met and that marital research should be continued using previous variables.

The Children-of-Twins design was used to test whether associations between marital conflict frequency and conduct problems can be replicated within the children of discordant twin pairs. A sample of 2,051 children (age 14-39 years) of 1,045 twins was used to estimate the genetic and environmental influences on marital conflict and determine whether genetic or environmental selection processes underlie the observed association between marital conflict and conduct problems. Results indicate that genetic and nonshared environmental factors influence the risk of marital conflict. Furthermore, genetic influences mediated the association between marital conflict frequency and conduct problems. These results highlight the need for quasiexperimental designs in investigations of intergenerational associations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The current study was designed to replicate findings from previous research regarding the relationships between job stressors, negative affectivity, and counterproductive work behavior (CWB) using peer-reported data and to assess the effects of workplace incivility on employee satisfaction and CWB. Results indicate that incivility, organizational constraints, and interpersonal conflict were negatively related to job satisfaction and positively related to CWB. Support was also found for the role of negative affectivity as a moderator of the relationship between job stressors and CWB, although only one significant moderator was found using peer-reported CWB. In general, the relationships between job stressors and CWB were stronger for individuals high in negative affectivity than for individuals low in negative affectivity. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The increased use of teams in organizations, coupled with an increasingly diverse workforce, strongly suggests that we should learn more about how team diversity affects functioning and performance. The purpose of this study was to explore the differential impact of surface-level diversity (gender, ethnicity), deep-level diversity (time urgency, extraversion), and two moderating variables (team orientation, team process) on relationship conflict over time. Hypotheses were tested by tracking 45 student project teams in a longitudinal design. Results revealed that team orientation and team process moderated the diversity-conflict link. Specifically, team orientation helped to neutralize the negative effects of surface-level (gender) diversity on relationship conflict. In a similar manner, team processes worked to weaken the deleterious effects of deep-level diversity (time urgency) on relationship conflict. In addition, relationship conflict resulted in lower perceived performance by team members. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Parents' marital conflict styles were investigated as mediators in the associations between parental dysphoria and children's internalizing symptoms. A community sample of 267 children, ages 8 to 16, participated with their parents. Behavioral observations were made of parents' interactions during marital conflict resolution tasks. Questionnaires assessed parents' dysphoria and children's internalizing problems. Structural equation modeling indicated that marital discord, in particular, depressive conflict styles, mediated the relationship between parental dysphoria and children's internalizing problems. Furthermore, whereas for dysphoric mothers, depressive conflict styles partially mediated the links with children's internalizing, for fathers, depressive conflict styles fully mediated the links. Destructive and constructive marital conflict were associated with parental dysphoria (positively and negatively, respectively) but did not mediate the relations with children's internalizing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mothers' and fathers' reports of marital conflicts in the home were obtained (n = 1,638 and 1,281 conflicts, respectively), including conflicts in front of the children (n = 580 and 377, respectively). Participants were 116 families with children 8 to 16 years old (M = 10.82 years, SD = 2.17; 58 boys, 58 girls). Children's emotional responses indicated distinctions between distressing conflict tactics (i.e., threat, personal insult, verbal hostility, defensiveness, nonverbal hostility, marital withdrawal, physical distress) and those that increased their emotional security (i.e., calm discussion, support, affection). Analyses based on cross-reporter informants of parental conflict and child responses strengthened confidence in the findings. Conflict tactics were related to marital functioning, and children's emotional reactions during marital conflicts were associated with their adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This longitudinal study tested the role of children's appraisals of threat and self-blame as mediators of the association between interparental conflict and child adjustment in a sample of 298 Welsh children ages 11 to 12 years. Exposure to higher levels of interparental conflict at Time 1 predicted greater perceived threat and self-blame at Time 2, after accounting for the effects of Time 1 adjustment and appraisals on later appraisals. Perceived threat in turn was associated with increased internalizing problems at Tune 2, and self-blame was associated with higher externalizing problems. The pattern of results was largely consistent for child and parent reports of conflict and for boys and girls, though some gender differences were found in associations between appraisals and adjustment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides commentary by the author concerning mechanisms in the development of emotional organization. Interparental conflict and child development; Analogue method; Correlation designs; Emotional security theory; Attachment theory.

The focus of this study was the extent to which physical aggression and, to a lesser extent, verbal conflict predict relationship dissolution in a national sample. Data were from a 5- to 7-year follow-up of 3,508 married and cohabiting couples in the National Survey of Families and Households. Controlling for demographic factors and verbal conflict, male violence significantly elevated the risk of disruption between waves. Female violence was not a predictor of disruption. Much of the effect of male violence was accounted for by its association with reduced relationship quality. The impact of male violence did not appear to differ according to the female partner's socioeconomic resources or whether couples were in formal or informal unions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the findings of a study exploring the social aspects of marital distress and subsequent divorce using interviews with working middle-class Afro-American men. The findings suggest that the causes of marital distress and subsequent divorce are associated with active problem-solving efforts. The increased prevalence of divorce among Blacks has been attributed to the attitudes of Blacks toward marriage, the quality of life among Black men and women, the economic marginality of Blacks, the liberalization of divorce laws, and the unequal sex ratio in the black community. In 50% of the interviews, men complained that the spending practices of ex-spouses caused them considerable physiological as well as marital distress. Men in this study complained that ex-wives spent too much money on children and some resented their wives spending money on such extravagant purchases. In their opinion, these spending habits made their marriages irrevocably unworkable. Further, the differences in religious practices also affected marital stability. The respondents also expressed a lack of personal fulfillment and marital happiness because of their spouses' involvement in religious activities.

The article examines the individual, relative and interactive influences of parental divorce and interparental conflict on adolescent. Interparental conflict is a family process variable that is important to assess when studying the relationship between parental marital status and adolescent functioning. In particular, this article proposes that the current level of interparental conflict at any given point in time in a family, either intact or divorced, is a critical variable that provides as much, if not more, information about an adolescent's functioning than the marital status of his/her parents. Furthermore, the current family environment is more important in predicting adolescent functioning than earlier interparental conflict. The results of studies suggest that both marital status and current interparental conflict predict adolescent functioning. In a study, in order to examine the influence of marital status beyond that of current interparental conflict, three variables, that is, age, gender, and current interparental conflict were entered as a set into each equation at each of the four years for each area of functioning, followed by parental marital status.

The article focuses on coparenting in families raising toddler sons. Researches have shown that there are positive associations between the quality of marital relations and parenting effectiveness and indicators of children's well-being. Beginning early in life, systematic connections have been demonstrated between marital quality, parenting style, and infant and toddler development. One characteristic of the marital relationship that has emerged as a potent predictor of problems during the preschool and adolescent years involves interadult conflict. The connections between inter- spousal conflict, troubled parenting, and problems for children appear to persist from the preschool years through adolescence. Thus, one specific characteristic of the marital relationship-overt conflict-appears to function prominently as a process variable for interrupting effective parenting and explaining how adults' behavior might directly and indirectly contribute to children's growth and development.

The article examines the longitudinal relationship between adolescents' involvement in family decision making, parental warmth and marital quality. As children develop, their parents typically grant them greater autonomy, the offspring, in turn, assume more responsibility for regulating their own behavior. Few studies indicate that parent-adolescent agreement appears to be higher when adolescents provide the information on parental attitudes than when the parents provide it themselves. The central hypothesis guiding this study focuses on the impact of parent-adolescent relationship quality on adolescents' adoption of their parents' attitudes and norms. Involvement in family decision making provides adolescents with opportunities to discuss value-laden issues with their parents. It is now widely acknowledged that parent-adolescent relationships function within the larger family context, accordingly, their quality may be linked to that of the parents' marital relationship. High levels of marital conflict often are associated with negative, controlling, and non-supportive parenting.

The article presents information on a study that tests a theory, which suggests that the level of parent-adolescent conflict is determined by family context. This theory was tested using structural equation modeling of data collected from 335 families over a 4-year period time, from the target children's early adolescence into their middle adolescence. According to this theory, a family atmosphere of warmth and supportiveness promotes successful negotiation of disagreements between parents and adolescent children and thereby helps to keep conflict at low to moderate levels. Under hostile, coercive conditions, however, parents and adolescents will be unlikely to resolve disagreements and conflict will escalate to dysfunctional levels. Findings of this study support the theory and it demonstrates the progressive nature of the proposed family process. Also, difficulties in hostile and coercive families appeared to worsen throughout early to middle adolescence, while parent-adolescent relationships in warm, supportive families tended to improve.

The article presents information on a study that attempts to develop a biopsychosocial model of family violence. The purpose of this study is to develop a model that incorporates salient predictors from the biological, psychological, and social domains that traditionally have been associated with domestic violence. The relative contribution of each domain, as well as selected interactions within and across domains, is also assessed. The biopsychosocial perspective is an attempt to understand health and illness through an appreciation of how biological, psychological, and social elements persist in affiliation with one another. Also, biological system factors are thought to exist in and interact with psychological system factors, both of which are hypothesized to exist in and interact with family and other social system factors. This study found that each domain was significantly related to male domestic violence. However, when all domains were considered together, only the biological and social domains yielded independent effects. Significant independent variables included alcohol, family income, and relationship quality with testosterone approaching significance.

This article argues that there are two forms of family violence taking place in American households. It is argued that the distinction between common couple violence and patriarchal terrorism is important because it has implications for the implementation of public policy, the development of educational programs and intervention strategies, and, the development of theories of interpersonal violence. A review of evidence from large-sample survey research and from qualitative and quantitative data gathered from women's shelters suggests that some families suffer from occasional outbursts of violence from either husbands or wives (common couple violence), while other families are, terrorized by systematic male violence (patriarchal terrorism). However, since the heart of the distinction between common couple violence and patriarchal terrorism is one of motivation, the evidence presented in this study can only be suggestive. It was concluded that if there are different patterns that arise from different societal roots and interpersonal dynamics, one must make distinctions in order to maximize the effectiveness in moving toward the goal of peace in one's private lives.

The article presents information on a study that examines the variations in levels of conflicts between parents and teenagers. This study analyzed samples of 1,828 white, black, and Hispanic families with adolescents from the 1988 National Survey of Families and Households. In investigating conflict between parents and adolescents, researchers have focused primarily on documenting the frequency of conflict, describing variations based on age and sex of parents and adolescents, and on developmental factors such as puberty, perceptions of social conventions, and expectancies of relationship with parents. All parents responded disagreeing over the, same issues, but white parents reported more conflict than either minority group. Adolescent personality characteristics, history of problem behaviors, and negative parenting were the strongest predictors of conflict across cultural groups. It is recommended that there is a need for more research that assesses adolescent and family development across the transition to adolescence.

The article presents information on a study that examines the influence of mothers' parenting practices, involvement of nonresidential fathers and parental conflict on the adjustment of adolescents living in mother-headed households. Also, it investigates the possibility that child adjustment problems may be a cause, as well as a consequence, of parental behavior. The present study used panel data on 207 divorced women and their children. Quality of parenting by nonresidential fathers was related to externalizing problems for boys and girls, although the results differed somewhat depending on the source of data used to assess father's parenting. In general, the adolescents in the sample had rather high contact with their fathers. Approximately 60% indicated that their father visited at least twice a month, and over half reported that they had weekly contact. The results provided no evidence for the view that the impact of parental behavior on child adjustment either increases or wanes with time since divorce.

This longitudinal study examines direct and indirect influences of marital discord on the behavioral and emotional adjustment of 154 children two years after parental filing for divorce. Indirect effects investigated include parent-child relationships, parental conflict, and child access to the less-seen parent. Marital conflict contributes to problematic emotional and behavioral child adjustment, largely indirectly through poorer mother-child relationships. Disputing spouses also have higher postseparation conflict and children with more behavioral problems. These findings, consistent with those of previous studies of intact families, identify family processes that influence child development regardless of parents' marital status. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]

This study explored several factors associated with expected outcome of emotional expression and likelihood of expression among children. These variables were posited to be a reflection of children's affective display rules. Differences in outcome expectancies and likelihood of expression were assessed as a function of sex of parent, sex of subject, grade, and type of affect. 125 first-, fourth-, and sixth-grade children (mean ages, 6-9, 9-2, and 11-7, respectively) were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 experimental conditions involving either sad or angry affect inductions. Older boys reported less positive expectancies and lower likelihood of expression than younger boys; and boys had less positive expectancies and lower likelihood of expression for sadness than girls. A high correlation was obtained between outcome expectancy and likelihood of expression; the correlation was higher for sadness than anger, and higher among males than females. These results suggest that socialization practices tend to be directed toward the suppression of sadness among males. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Presents a review of the empirical literature in social and cognitive development and sociolinguistics, focusing on the interpersonal conflicts of children in natural settings. Outline of the central role of conflict in various developmental theories; Description of the major features of social conflicts; Relation between the social-cognitive functioning of children and their conflict behavior.

Significant gains in conservation of number, amount, mass, and weight were made by 53 nonconservers (age 6-0) who either simply observed conservers performance on mass and weight problems or argued with conservers in a social conflict situation about these problems. There were no significant differences in conservation performance between the modeling and social conflict treatments. It was suggested that the social conflict effect could be attributed to modeling effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]